oil spill risk analysis and mitigation of potential impacts to the human and biological environment.The general types of studies that may be funded include scientific studies for better understanding marine, coastal or human environments affected or potentially affected by offshore oil and gas or other mineral exploration and extraction on the outer continental shelf;The most relevant geographic areas are potential Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease areas in the Beaufort Sea, the Chukchi Sea and Cook Inlet including Shelikof Strait.Following the submission of letters of intent (LOI) from the University of Alaska, the BOEM, in discussion with representatives from the State of Alaska, have selected several LOI topics